Carter leaves North Korea as Kim holds meetings in China

Jimmy Carter, the former US president, left North Korea on Friday with an
American man who had been held in the country for nearly seven months as Kim
Jong-il reportedly held talks in China about his country's leadership
succession.

Aijalon Gomes, 31, who had crossed the border illegally on a one-man peace mission, flew from Pyongyang with Mr Carter, who had travelled to the North Korean capital three days earlier to negotiate the release.

Meanwhile Kim Jong-il, the dictator of the communist country, was reportedly holding meetings with Chinese leaders to gain their approval for the appointment of his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor.

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency said Carter's visit included cordial talks with Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's number two official.

IN a surprise move, Kim Jong-il went to China on Thursday to seek approval from his closest ally to hand the reins to his youngest son.

Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his 20s, will reportedly be appointed to a key party position at a ruling Workers' Party meeting early next month - the first such gathering in decades.

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To pull off the event with sufficient fanfare, North Korea will need Chinese aid, particularly following the devastating floods that battered the country's northwest this month, analysts said.

A year ago, Kim sat down for talks and a photo with former US president Bill Clinton when he went to Pyongyang on a similar journey to negotiate the release of two American journalists.

The US and North Korea have not had diplomatic relations since fighting on opposite sides of the 1950-53 Korean War. However, Mr Carter has formed personal links in the country following a trip to Pyongyang in 1994 to meet with Kim's father, late President Kim Il-sung. Those talks led to a landmark nuclear disarmament pact.

Mr Gomes was the fourth American arrested in North Korea for illegal entry in a year when he was seized in January.

Besides journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, also sentenced to hard labor and released last August on a special pardon, activist Robert Park deliberately crossed into the country last Christmas and was expelled by North Korean authorities about 40 days later.

Mr Gomes worshipped at the same church as Mr Park and was photographed in Seoul rallying for Park's release just two weeks before his own arrest in North Korea.

In April, North Korean authorities sentenced Mr Gomes to hard labour and fined 70 million won - around £400,000 - for trespassing and committing a "hostile act." According to state media he "admitted all the facts".

Last month, North Korean media reported that Mr Gomes tried to kill himself, "driven by his strong guilty conscience, disappointment and despair at the US government that has not taken any measure for his freedom," and was hospitalised.

A US delegation, including a consular official, two doctors and a translator, made a secret visit to Pyongyang earlier this month to try to secure his release. The group visited Mr Gomes at the hospital but were unable to negotiate his release then, Mr Crowley said last week.

The Carter Center and US officials have emphasised that the ex-president's trip was a private humanitarian mission.

However, such visits have in the past provided an opportunity for unofficial diplomacy.

KCNA said the Americans held "an open-hearted discussion" with North Korea's foreign minister and vice foreign minister for U.S. affairs on their countries' relations as well as nuclear disarmament.

Six-nation nuclear disarmament talks have been stalled since North Korea walked away from the table last year.